Michael's Restaurant, Toronto

Michael's is not just a very good place for steak. It is a steakhouse, but it also has a very well rounded, well executed menu of a range of salads, pastas and seafood. For example, there are very few restaurants in Canada that offer wild salmon (and if they do, it is usually Copper River....not my fave), and michael's offers wild Irish salmon!

Scallop ceviche with cucumber, capers, green and red pepper and celery. A bit of a spicy bight and the celery added a nice counterpunch of flavour for the sweet scallop.

Shrimp tempura accompanied by a slice of very tender wild boar belly and grape confit. Crispy, light tempura batter and very tender and tasty boar but the combination was not perfectly harmonious.

Agnolotti with lobster lobster butter sauce. Good, properly cooked pasta, but the agnolotti pasta itself, was a bit heavy. House made tagliolini with zucchini and basil. Again, very good pasta with perfect texture and pleasing flavours.

(Left to right) Wild boar, rib steak, braised oxtail with a paprika reduction and gnocchi, accompanied by cinnamon-infused pear. Interesting, but, the steak was of greatest interest:

The steak was a very good steak, very highly rated (beef boys score for taste, texture and juiciness out of 10): 8.5\8\8.5. Better than some conventional steakhouse experiences.